Overview
The Duke University Program in Genetics and Genomics (UPGG) is an umbrella graduate training program that spans several basic science and clinical departments and bridges the medical center and the college of arts and sciences. There are more than 90 faculty, and more than 50 students in the program.
UPGG was founded in 1967 and has been continuously supported by a training grant from the NIH for more than 35 years.
Over the past several decades, the program has served as an important forum for training and education in genetics and genomics, including model systems (bacteria, yeast, fungi, drosophila, zebrafish, mouse), population genetics, and human genetics. The program has close links with the several genetic and genomic centers and institutes across the university and medical school.
The Duke UPGG is unique in that it is degree granting.
Mission Statement
The mission of the UPGG PhD training program is to produce highly trained independent-thinking professionals who have mastered the foundational skills required for a variety of career paths related to research in the biomedical sciences. Our approach to achieving this mission is to combine curricular offerings (e.g. lecture, active learning, team-based learning) with programmatic offerings (e.g. seminars, student seminars, workshops, thesis research), and then to assess the efficacy of all aspects of our training.
Program Goals
(1) To educate students in a breadth of classical/contemporary genetics and genomics topics that contribute to the fundamental understanding of living systems and translational research that directly impacts the understanding of human health and disease.
(2) To have students master the foundational skills required for a variety of career paths related to research in the biomedical sciences.
(3) To produce highly trained independent-thinking professionals who can fill critical niches in the biomedical research field in academic institutions, private industry, and government agencies.